


The Cat and Her Key

by KathrynAKelly



Category: Original - Fandom
Genre: F/F, based on post found on tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-27 17:03:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18743305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KathrynAKelly/pseuds/KathrynAKelly





	The Cat and Her Key

Once, long ago, in a far away kingdom, there was a bustling little town full of the most beautiful everything: beautiful shops with beautiful gowns, beautiful shoes, beautiful art, beautiful restaurants with amazingly mouth-watering foods, and most especially, beautiful people.

The people in this busy town came in all heights and sizes and colours, but everyone in the kingdom agreed they were the most beautiful people in the land, for their hearts were pure as gold and their imaginations stronger than a hundred horses. Which of course, was why their town was so renowned. 

On the outskirts of this wonderful town, there lived a young woman. She was plump as pudding and her dark curly hair spiraled down over her shoulders. Of all the women in the town, none was sought after more than her. Her name was Ezrebet, and every day she walked into the forest outside town to gather fresh fruit to share with her neighbors. Then she’d visit the elderly in their nursing home, and the children at the school house to read them books and teach them to paint, or sew, or knit, or cook, whatever their minds yearned to learn. In the afternoons, Ezrebet cleaned her house and played with her cats. 

She loved her cats, all of them, each and every one. Soot was the mischief maker, always getting into trouble (not that Ezrebet minded, of course). Diamond was white as snow and lucky to boot. Blossom, the biggest of the lot, was bright orange and could climb any tree, no matter how tall, in the blink of an eye. Minky was the runt at just a palms length and full grown! Shadow liked to slink around corners and dash off whenever someone came near. Daphne liked the flowers in the yard; she could roll around in them all day and night if one let her.

Yes, the town was perfect, and Ezrebet was very happy in her home with her cats. 

There was just one problem.

Suitors.

Every day, young men and women (and everything in between; why, even a dragon had once tried to court her!) would come by her home and knock on the door. They’d offer her flowers and sweets and make promises of undying love and riches beyond her wildest imagination. 

None of it appealed to Ezrebet. She’d much rather sit in her kitchen, watching the steam rise from whatever she was cooking up that day, as her cats played around her. Not that she didn’t want to find love, of course, but she wanted to be with someone who appreciated her for herself, not because she was the most beautiful or creative or kindest. But someone who would love her even when she had her bad days, when she was temperamental and sour. 

Eventually though, she thought, “Something must be done about these suitors! … But what?”

So Ezrebet sat. And sat. And sat. 

She sat and she thought.

She read her books, watched her cats, daydreamed while looking out the window (sometimes her best ideas came to her in daydreams).

One morning she opened the upstairs window to let in the fresh air and sunlight, only to be greeted by no less than twenty folk in her yard, each one decked to the nines in all their finery, bearing gifts and cheering when they saw her.

Ezrebet shook her head and when she did, she spotted Shadow, darting around the corner of her dresser. Suddenly, an idea came to her. She addressed the suitors below the window:  
“My dear people, I know you all covet my favor, and in truth, I do want to find a life partner to love and cherish for all our days. So I give you this challenge. Whosoever can unlock my front door with the gold key found only round my cat’s neck, that person shall be my beloved bond mate forever. It is that person I will marry, and no other.” 

Some of the gathered people immediately started looking for the cat. Others went home to change costume - it would do no good trying to catch a cat while in silk stockings, no, better to get something one could move about in.

Over the next several months, news spread through town of Ezrebet’s challenge. People came from all over to chase down and capture the cat with the golden key, but it was a sly thing, and skittish. Noblemen found themselves covered from head to foot in mud after diving for the cat in front of the pig pen. A vampire came at night, trying to sniff out the cat, but it was never outside at night. Both the prince and princesses of the kingdom came round, too, demanding in their loud official voices that the cat present itself to royalty and let one of them capture it. It was to no avail.

When springtime came again, and most of the suitors had given up hope, a little milkmaid came calling. She had met Ezrebet before, several times in fact, when the lovely lady had read to her grandmother at the old people’s home. The girl’s name was Gabriella. She was strong - she’d beaten an orc in an arm wrestling contest once - and smart - top her class and she’d read all the books in the town library, every one of them. She was also very pretty, with dark red hair and a delicate little nose. Gabriella didn’t think she was good enough for Ezrebet, but she liked the woman’s cats and flower garden. She’d decided to bring some cat treats with her and sit in the yard to play with them.

At first, nothing happened. She came almost every day, sitting in the same spot, dropping treats and toys. It took nearly a fortnight before any of the cats began to play with their gifts. Gabriella didn’t know their names; two were black, one grey, one white, one orange, and a calico (the friendliest of the bunch, it was always playing in the flowers). None of them had a key around their necks though, so Gabriella thought there must be another cat even more skittish than these six. 

Eventually, this Other Cat did present itself. It never got close enough for Gabriella to pet, and it was always staring at her, unblinkly, when she was around.

Spring passed. Summer came and went. Autumn left early, and the cold winter chill settled over the beautiful town. Nearly all the suitors had given up by this time, so the snow covered yard was nearly pristine, but it was still very cold. Gabrilla worried about the cats freezing, but, surely Ezrebet wouldn’t let that happen?

Sure enough, in winter, the milkmaid found all the cats in their outdoor beds - tiny houses alongside the main house, filled with stuffing (and, Gabriella noticed, every toy she’d ever brought them). The cats, all save one, let her put her hands inside the houses and pet them (she was very surprised how warm these little houses were, too). 

The Other Cat, the one with the golden key and eyes to match, sprang away from her if she got too near. So Gabriella let it be. Instead, while the six other cats played around her, Gabriella would talk about her parents and grandmother, her time at school, her brother, a new recipe she wanted to try, or painting she’d seen. The Other Cat listened.

Springtime came round again.

The Other Cat started to play with her. It let her pet it.

Gabriella made no move for the key. She was just happy this cat had finally warmed up to her. By the time autumn came about again, it would twine itself around her ankles when she left. And when she came back the next day, it would boop it’s head against her side, demanding pets and chin scratches.

“Yes, yes, I love you too, you silly thing.” She would say to it.

On the first day of Winter, the Other Cat bit Gabriella’s cloak and tried to drag her to the front door, but the girl still wasn’t sure she was worthy of Ezrebet’s love - she’d seen the woman every day for twenty years in the market, and at the school, doing everything and anything she could to make the town the best it could be, and all Gabriella had done was milk cows and goats. 

Gabriella the milkmaid did not return the next day. Or the next. Or the day after that. When she did return, the Other Cat was angry. It hissed and growled at her. It clawed her hand when she tried to pet it. “I’m sorry, but I just think someone like her deserves better than a milkmaid.” The Other Cat hissed again. Gabriella dropped her treats and toys off with the six cats waiting for her in the flowered yard, and this time, she didn’t stay quite as long as usual. It made her uncomfortable to think the Other Cat was upset.

Eventually, the Other Cat forgave Gabriella. It started playing with her again and purring when given chin scratches. It even pounced on Gabriella’s head once, carrying a flower chain crown between it’s teeth. “It’s so pretty, but where, who…?” Gabriella looked around. She didn’t see anyone who could have made the crown, and a cat certainly couldn’t do that…could it?

Near the end of summer, as Gabriella and six of the cats were napping lazily amidst the flowers, the Other Cat jumped onto Gabriella’s chest. It was tired of waiting.

The sudden movement and weight startled Gabriella; she looked up. The Other Cat was staring at her. It started to move. No, not move. Change. It got bigger, and longer, and it’s fur started to disappear. It was human. It - she - was turning into Ezrebet! 

Gabriella sputtered, “Y-you’re, you’re a, what are you?”

“A witch, darling.” Ezrebet said, smiling down at the woman beneath her. Gabriella’s dark red hair stood out beautifully against the tall green grass, and the flowers, while stunning, paled in comparison to the beauty of Gabriella’s face.

Ezrebet caressed the lovely woman’s face, “May I kiss you?” she asked, staring down into rich dark eyes.

Gabriella nodded, and when she closed her eyes as Ezrebet’s lips came down upon hers, she felt the woman take her hand and move it to the key still hanging around her neck.  
“Let’s go inside.” Ezrebet said as she pulled away from the other woman. She held out her hand and helped Gabriella up, took them both to the front door, and there, Gabriella noticed the key was no longer on Ezrebet’s necklace, but rather in her own hand. This time, she didn’t turn around; she didn’t pull away, and she didn’t run. She took the key, placed it in the lock, and opened the door to the rest of her life. Her wonderful, beautiful life, with her wonderful, beautiful fiance. 

Ezrebet and Gabriella married that autumn. They had six children: Soot, Shadow, Minky, Blossom, Diamond, and Daphne. And they lived happily ever after.


End file.
